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But two of the stop-gaps pitched well enough to stick around: Esmil Rogers, converted from a relief role, and Todd Redmond, a career minor-leaguer plucked off the waiver wire in the offseason.

Now the Jays have to decide what to do with them and what to make of their small sample of relative success.

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Redmond made his 11th start of the season on Friday night against the Baltimore Orioles — one more than Brandon Morrow for sixth among the Jays’ staff — allowing just three hits and one run over 6.1 innings.

Redmond left the game with a 3-0 lead in the seventh, getting a puzzling early hook from manager John Gibbons — Redmond had thrown just 75 pitches — after giving up a leadoff double to Adam Jones and getting Nick Markakis to ground out.

It was still the longest outing of Redmond’s career, but he looked primed to go much deeper.

In hindsight, Gibbons probably wishes he had let him.

With Redmond gone, Baltimore stormed back to score five runs against the Jays’ bullpen, winning 5-3 in front of an announced crowd of 20,024.

Gibbons said he planned to go the bullpen the moment Redmond ran into trouble in the seventh.

“Sometimes ... you got to stop things before they develop,” he explained. “It backfired, but that was kind of the plan.”

Dustin McGowan, who entered in relief of Redmond in the seventh, promptly gave up two doubles and two walks, surrendering the Jays’ lead. Heading into the game McGowan had allowed just four runs in 21 innings. “McGowan’s one of our hottest guys lately,” Gibbons said.

Orioles slugger Chris Davis deepened the damage, leading off the eighth with his major league-leading 50th home run of the season to secure the victory for Baltimore, who stayed within 2.5 games of the Tampa Bay Rays in the race for the AL’s second wild card.

Adam Lind hit his 20th home run of the season to give the Jays an early 2-0 lead, while Colby Rasmus went 2-for-3 with his 19th homer of the season in his first game back in the lineup after missing a month with a strained oblique.

As for Redmond, who looked as good as he has all season, the Jays have received more than they ever could have imagined from the 28-year-old journeyman right-hander.

“He’s been a pleasant surprise for us,” Gibbons said. “He’s put himself on the map.”

When Redmond joined the rotation back on July 7, he was just the latest in a carousel of arms the Jays hoped could eat up innings as harmlessly as possible.

Nearly a dozen starts later, the Jays are left with a question that would have seemed inconsequential two months ago: What do we really have in Todd Redmond?

Is he in the running to join the rotation in 2014? Is he a useful swingman out of the bullpen?

Or is his relative competence at the big-league level — after toiling for eight years in the minors — just smoke and mirrors?

A lot will depend, of course, on how Redmond performs in his last few starts and what the Jays do to upgrade their rotation this offseason. But there’s no doubt Redmond has at least forced himself into the conversation.

Already well-versed in say-nothing clichés, Redmond refused to speculate on what next season might bring. He’s taking it one start at a time, he says. “Next year’s next year.”

Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia said he couldn’t speak to whether Redmond was doing anything differently now compared to earlier in his career, but it could just be a matter of opportunity.

“There’s guys in the minor leagues that don’t get chances,” he said. “For whatever reason they get a chance somewhere and they succeed.”

Arencibia likened him to reliever Neil Wagner, who has enjoyed a breakout campaign with the Jays after failing to stick with a big-league club over the last six years.

“(Redmond’s) just been able to really pound the zone. He’s got a sneaky fastball, ball kind of rises. He keeps the ball down. He throws from an awkward angle.”

Adding to Redmond’s deception is his lower arm slot and occasional sidearm, which he mixes in to keep hitters’ guessing.

“What I love about Red is he’s just an absolute competitor,” said Mike Nickeas, the Jays’ third-string catcher who caught Redmond in Triple-A Buffalo this year. “He’s chucking and he’s going to give you everything he’s got. He battles.”

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